Windsor/Stewardson-Strasburg sports co-op reaches new agreement

When the Stewardson-Strasburg School Board voted four-3 no longer to renew its sports activities co-op with Windsor on May 30, it appeared next season would be the closing for the Hatchets.

But as an alternative, the two colleges were given together and hammered out a settlement. On Wednesday, both colleges forums voted at their respective colleges to accept a new sports activities co-op settlement effective without delay.

Stew-Stras superintendent Michele Lindenmeyer stated her faculty board requested her in July to satisfy with Windsor superintendent Erik Van Hoveln.

“They desired us to provide you with what we notion would be the great and gift it to the boards and either they’ll like or it stroll away,” stated Lindenmeyer.

Van Hoveln stated the one’s talks went nicely.

“We had a few good conversations and I knew what my board desired and she or he knew what her board wanted,” Van Hoveln stated. “When we had been performed we felt love it changed into attainable for both boards.”

The result became what Lindenmeyer stated turned into an “intergovernmental agreement that addressed a number of the worries which have been expressed.

“We took the old settlement and struck out the matters that did not work and wrote some new language to optimistically make it paintings,” Lindenmeyer said.

Windsor’s board surpassed the proposal 6-0 with one member no longer gift; the Stew-Stras board handed it 6-1.

Since it replaces the previous co-op settlement and IHSA co-ops are, via the rule, two-yr agreements, this co-op agreement runs via the 2019-2020 college 12 months.

“We took the technique that we have tried to address a number of the worries and make it higher so why make it a year to make it better?” Lindenmeyer said. “If we’ve got a plan why no longer put in force it, and so it started out nowadays (Thursday).”

Lindenmeyer stated the main changes had been in expenditures of transportation, host schools and chain of the command language.

“What we, in reality, tried to do is take matters that have been issues inside the past and try and find some approaches to treat it,” said Lindenmeyer. “There became a lot of confusion and that wasn’t everyone’s fault, however just that it had not been certainly articulated. We included it within the agreement so that human beings knew if there had been problems or troubles — where do they pass, who do they communicate to and what is the following step within the chain?”

The IHSA requires a host school in a co-op agreement. Per the new settlement, as opposed to sharing everything down the line — like inside the previous settlement — the host school will do it all.

“The host college will be in fee of coaches, all expenses and get the sales for that sport,” stated Van Hoveln. “I assume it will make it a little bit cleaner.”

Windsor is now the host for golf, volleyball, softball, cheer and dance; Stew-Stras will hosts boys basketball, girls basketball and baseball.

The first WSS sports activities co-op agreement become made in May of 2014 for the 2015-16 and 2016-17 seasons. The co-op becomes accepted in 2014 7-zero at Stew-Straus and 5-2 at Windsor.

“From the out of doors looking in, it (the sports activities co-op) isn’t going to look any one-of-a-kind than it ever has,” said Lindenmeyer. “The only difference is the mechanisms on the interior. You should no longer know who the host school is because it need to be transparent due to the fact we’re nevertheless doing 50/50 video games and 50/50 practices. It is still the Hatchets and the identical colors.”

Both schools had either started or have been about to begin scheduling basketball games for the 2019-20 season with out the sports activities co-op and now can achieve this with the co-op.